Jobs
and the Job Market in the United Kingdom (England,
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland)

GreatBritain
was the dominant industrial, economic and maritime power
during the 19th Century and at its height, ruled one
quarter of the world. But wars and economic changes in
other countries depleted its abilities and its resources.
The empire was dismantled and the country is still
struggling with the changes brought about in the post WW2
period, and the reemergence of Continental Europe. But
Britain, and especially London, maintained its status as
a major world financial center and its trading influences
are still felt on a world scale. While much of
traditional industry declined, banking insurance,
commodity trading and other business services make up an
ever large proportion of Britain's GDP.

One has
to realize that with an area of 93.2 thousand
square miles and a population of just
over 63 million, Britain is only in the
"middle league" of countries worldwide. It
largest city, London with a population
in the metro area of 13.7 million
far outflanks cities like Glasgow, with 1.2 million or
Birmingham with just under one million people. Hence,
much of the inspiration and dynamism of the country is
centered around that metropolis. Yet, London's attraction
as a city to live and work in, with its museums and
cultural life is counter balanced with is high costs of
living and in most cases the daily stress of having to
commute considerable distances between living quarters
and the work place.

Despite the, relatively speaking, low
wages and, especially in the South East and
around London, very high costs of living,
the United Kingdom remains a magnet for English speaking
employees. Banking jobs are highly paid, but the
financial center, known as the "City"
has gone through significant restructuring and lost many
thousands of jobs to other financial centers in the
world. Getting a job and getting a work permit is not
easy, if you are not an EU or EFTA citizen. American and
Canadian employees looking for jobs within the UK often
get "executive transfers" from their home
country, where the employment contracts usually
compensate for the high costs of living (especially
housing) and for sending children to school in the UK
(there are numerous American schools in and around
London)which are generally very expensive. But these "executive
transfer contracts" are made under
US or Canadian law and the place of employment
is in the USA or Canada. This means that
other, non EU nationalities, are not so lucky.

Citizens of member state of the EU
and EFTA can work freely with the United Kingdom.

The United Kingdom
operates a points system to evaluate immigrants
or other candidates who want to be given a visa
to enter the country.

There are shortages for highly
qualified personnel in the software and computer
design area and in science jobs (preferably with
Ph.D's). There are also many positions in nursing
and healthcare. At the low end of the pay scale,
there are positions for Carers for retired people
and long term care recipients.

There is also a shortage
of skilled tradesmen, though this has been
somewhat alleviated by immigrants from Eastern Europe,
especially Poland, Romania and Bulgaria. There have been
moves by right wing politicians to restrict such legal
immigration from another EU community to Britain. But to
date, they have not been successful.

Websites
with Information on Life and
Employment in the United
Kingdom

Has
information on housing (rental and purchase),
entertainment, travel, and everything else you
need to know when you live in London and the
South East

Jobs and the Job Market in Ireland

Ireland has, after years
of emigration seen a tremendous inflow of highly
qualified labor. Especially in computer manufacturing and
software design. Within a few decades, it has advanced
from the "poor house of Northern Europe" to one
of the highest paying job markets in
Europe. But costs of living are extremely high and, good
accommodation and housing is difficult to come by. During
the recent downturn, Ireland has also been
hit hard and will take some time to recover. Because
Ireland is part of the Euro currency zone, it might see
an earlier recovery than the UK.

The easiest way to obtain permission to
work in Ireland for a non EU or EFTA citizen,
is, when one creates a company there. For that you will
need a Business Permission. It is a
written permission with a specified time limit, from the Minister
of Justice, Equality and Law Reform for a person
to engage in a business. The requirements for a
Business Permission are

An investment
of at least Euro 300,000. This has to be
in cash or verifiable assets.

The
investor will also have to create a minimum
of two jobs for EU citizens, other than
himself; and

The
investor has to show that his business will add
to the competitiveness of the Nation and that his
business is a viable trading opportunity, that
will not result in the applicant or any of his
dependants having to resort to social welfare or
an activity which would require a work permit.

The
applicant has to be of good character and must be
in possession of a valid travel document, such as
a passport.

If you want to work in Ireland
and are not a citizen of any of the EU or EFTA countries you
will need a work permit. This has to be
applied for at the Department of Enterprise,
Trade and Employment by your prospective Irish
based employer.

Work permits will generally be
refused, if the person and prospective employee has
entered the country as a visitor or as a tourist. Therefore,
do not travel to Ireland in the hope of getting a work
permit.

Your
Résumé or Curriculum Vitae

The
British prefer a European style CV to the American style
résumé. Though, during the most recent period, some of
the American style "sales letter elements" have
crept into the British CV as well. American companies
working in Britain and Ireland are obviously comfortable
with the résumé style. Having a top professionally
written Curriculum Vitae, is an
important investment!

There are numerous good résumé/CV
writing services available to help you create
the right format. You can find some of the ones we have
tested at on our resume
page. They vary in
price and you get what you pay for!

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